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The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

(1953, Rated G, Fantasy, Starring Hans Conried, Tommy Rettig, Peter Lind Hayes)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 5, age appropriate for kids over 7; suggested age 7.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    Colorful, culty Dr. Seuss Hollywood original.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 7 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Bart is just a regular kid who would like to play ball and with his dog; he's not angelic and he's not Bart Simpson either. There's a faint sense of old-school thought about his widowed single mom; she ought to be married, lest she fall victim to someone like Dr. T.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence & scariness:

    An order of execution by "disintegration," and a singing executioner vocalizes about various tortures, but the worst we see onscreen is a kick in the shins (and two characters who evidently die just because their bizarre beard is trimmed). A threatened explosion.

  • Sexy stuff:

    Not an issue.

  • Language:

    Not an issue.

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Zabladowsky gets up the nerve to fight the twin guards by imbibing "pickle juice," a Seussian metaphor for alcohol.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

Parents need to know that this isn't exactly a motivational tool if you want your kids to get into music (especially piano-playing). There's a dramatization of the now rather archaic (not to mention unhygienic) "blood brothers" kid ritual. Though it seems ridiculous that young kids could be frightened by Seuss whimsies, Stephen King (!) claimed he was terrified by one of the books -- so there. Maybe the executioner here is the scariest character, but he does nothing except sing and work an elevator to the dungeon. Though it precedes the MPAA rating system, some video versions carry a "G."

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the message of the movie, if any. What is the best way to get kids to take up music (especially piano) if they don't want to? You can discuss with older, more movie-savvy kids how the special effects were done with actual sets, costumes, and glass-matte style paintings and drawn vistas, unlike today's computer tricks.
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